Park Tool Cyclone Chain Scrubber Review

Machines that are created to make simple tasks easier are most often doomed to failure. The automated car wash, however, stands tall as one of mankind's most notable exceptions to that rule. A human, armed only with a hose, a bucket and a sponge can wash a car in about the same time interval as a seven-dollar car wash takes, but most drivers forgo the cheap route and opt for the entertainment of a mechanized sponge, mop and bucket. Such is the dilemma posed by the Cyclone Chain Scrubber.Photos by Lucas Aguilera

Park Tool's Cyclone Chain Scrubber is designed to use modern non-petroleum-based degreasing agents, and it works well with dish-washing detergent and water. If you ride or race in the mud and wet, the Cyclone can get your chain back in action in a matter of minutes.

Park Tool's Cyclone Chain Scrubber is the mechanized car wash of the cycling drivetrain - a 25-dollar drive-through kiosk for the chain that bathes the links in a pleasant-smelling degreaser, massages the bits with a series of scrubbing rollers, filters out any rogue metal-chips with a magnetic filter, and then gently squeezes out excess fluid as the chain exits through the opposite passageway. Fact is, anyone could mimic the Cyclone's job with a can of degreaser, a shop towel and a brush - which begs the question: 'If you experienced an easier, mechanized option, would you return to the brush and bucket to clean your chain?'

The Cyclone disassembles by hand and without tools, and replacement bits can be purchased from Park Tool. Two, well-designed stainless steel spring clasps (top-right) hold the halves of the body together. A strong magnet (lower right) at the lower end of the basin separates metal fragments from the cleaning fluid.

How the Cyclone Scrubber Works

The Cyclone's plastic body separates into two halves so that it can be installed over the chain without the need to remove it from the bike. The body is filled with cleaning fluid to a level mark on the transparent body and, after securing the Cyclone over the chain, the home mechanic holds the handle while turning the cranks. The first of three roller brushes scrubs the side-plates of the chain. The links then pass through a pair of vertical brushes that scrub the inside of the chain and finally, the chain passes through a gap in a foam element that removes most of the degreasing liquid and returns it to the device's reservoir.

Park Tool recommends two sessions using fresh degreaser the second time as a topper. Park also notes that it is best to shift the bike into the smallest cassette cog, presumably so that any excess degreaser that spills from the chain is kept at a distance from hub's ratchet mech and primary bearings. The Cyclone is quite effective at recovering the fluid, however, so we did not follow that precaution.

Fill the Cyclone's reservoir with about five ounces of degreasing fluid, snap it over the chain and then slowly turn the cranks for about twenty or thirty revolutions until the chain is clean and bright. We thought that the scrubber wold spit fluid all over the bike and floor, but such was not the case.

The Cyclone in Action

Park's chain scrubber puts in a good performance, with a clean chain in about three to five minutes. Perhaps the better news it that the Cyclone manages the normally messy task with a minimal amount of dripping and over-spray from the mech. We used a variety of cleaners, from cycling-specific sources as well as off-the rack citrus cleaners from automotive stores, with similar results. Just for fun, we tried Park Tool's suggestion of water and liquid detergent and that actually matched the performance of citrus degreasers.

How clean is clean?: Using the automated car wash analogy, Park's Cyclone can get almost all of the crud off the chain in a single washing. By that, we mean that the mechanized brushes leave the chain looking pretty sharp, but the tool leaves minute pockets of discoloration on the links that might be eliminated by a fastidious hand scrubbing. The Cyclone's results are as good as anyone needs to restore a dirty chain to as-new performance, however, and that is as far as most of us want to take that particular job anyway.

Before and after pictures of the same chain using only one serving of degreaser. Park Tool advises to run the chain through the Cyclone twice for near-perfect results. We found that the minimal areas of discoloration left by a once-through did not affect the performance of the chain.

Cleaning the Cyclone: No worries when it comes to cleaning the inner workings of the Cyclone. Because the cleaners you will be using are water based, the most effort that will be required is to spray some water in the mech to rinse it out. The degreaser-fluid bath seems to keep crud from accumulating on the roller brushes. If you are on the cheap, run your used degreasing fluid through a paper coffee filter and use it once again.

Technical Report

• Like: Replaceable parts, stocked by the most reputable bike tool company in the world • Like: Minimal mess on the floor and on the bike. • Like: Uses a relatively small volume of fluid to clean a chain • Don't like: The Cyclone cannot attain the nearly perfect results of a time-is-no-object, off-the-bike hand cleaning.

Wonder how much mess the Cyclone makes? Not much, as witnessed by the minimal spots left on Pinkbike's outdoor work-space after a thorough chain-washing session.

Pinkbike's take:

We resisted liking the Cyclone Chain Scrubber, because it seemed to be a gimmick designed to convert our money into Park Tool's money. All said, however, the Cyclone is a pretty easy gadget to use. It gets the job done in a hurry with surprisingly little mess or post-cleanup - and it was those attributes that turned us around. Now the Cyclone is a part of our regular maintenance routine. Can you do a better job by hand? Sure. Type 'A' helmet polishers, like retired Firemen who drive 1956 Corvettes, will probably mock the Cyclone's inability to restore chains to out-of the-box condition, but the bottom line is that the little blue box can get your chain running perfectly sweet in minutes. And, about the laziness brought on by yet another automated cleaning device? Well, the downside of today's water-based degreasers, however green they may be, is that the chain must be left dry before it can accept proper chain lubricants - and that can be time consuming. The Cyclone made the job of cleaning the chain so easy that we found ourselves wishing that Park Tool made a tubular brush attachment to fit a hair dryer so we could dry the chain as fast as we could wash it.- RC

150 Comments

Have used one at work(bike-shop tech) and for home use. Not very durable, breaks easily. Biggest beef is that after a while the pivots that the brushes spin on wear out and eventually won't hold the brushes in place. Little beef is that the bottom of the reservoir has so many tiny ridges and crevices that cleaning your chain cleaner takes longer than the "time-is-no-object, off-the-bike hand cleaning" alluded to before hand.

Tool's concept is pretty cool, but after 5 years in bikes shops, cleaning who knows how many chains... nothing beats an old rag, some degreaser, and sixty seconds.

The best method I've ever found is to put the chain in an empty water bottle add the desired solvent or degreaser and shake the hell out of it. If you go at if with a tooth brush and then do it once more it comes out spotless!

Eh, five years in a bike shop, I'd expect it to wear out. I've had mine for about 4 years without issue for my various bikes. So, as an individual consumer, I don't think longevity or build quality are lacking in the least.

Not sure what kind of abuse you put yours through but I've had one for close to four years now and, after four years of cleaning the chains on four bikes its still working perfectly. It makes cleaning the chain a simple part of washing the bike rather than a whole seperate task of removing the chain, cleaning the chain, and reinstalling the chain.

i dont think they break or wear down that wasily, we have had one in the shop for years and the only concern is that the brissles on the little brushes inside have started to frey and wear down. the best way to clean a cain is this combined with an old rag covered in anther cleaning fluid works great

Looks like a junky, gimmicky waste of plastic that woulda been perfect for Billy Mays to rub his stank all over, if he were still around to do it. I'll stick with my tank of degreaser & a toothbrush, which as it turns out, I can clean everything else with too!

Having owned this product for 6 years I can't believe people would question it's usefulness. Fill it with degreaser spin your chain through and bam its clean. Rag wipe it off and lube and the thing is shining. Remove sponge pad and clean with degreaser and some water, rinse it and it's good as new. Over 100 uses and it works as new. How does a clean item introduce more gunk to a dirty chain. Recommended by this weekend mechanic for sure.

Why take a tool apart to clean with degreaser when you could just use a decent chain like the KMC in the picture & take it off & clean it instead, doing a better job, saving money & avoiding another piece of useless junk sitting around the house?

I dont clean my chain often but when i do this is how i do it
Remove chain put it in a old thick sock with washing up liqwid in tie a not in the sock then i put it in the washing mechine on a hot was. Comes out sparkly new JOB DONE well it works for me

Put your chain in a container and cover it with a degreasing solution. Put the container on top of the washing machine or clothes dryer (preferably with a rubber mat between the two so you don't scratch your mom's appliance) and leave it there for a cycle or two. Let the motion of the machine agitate every scrap of dirt out of your chain. Rinse chain in very hot water or solvent.

Your chain will be so clean it wears out prematurely (see my comment earlier), but it will be very, very clean.

the interesting thing about bicycle chains is that they should never be cleaned using any solvent or degreasers, the harshest should be mild soapy water applied with a brush (this is generally for mountain bikes caked in mud) This information comes directly from Shimano and KMC Chain (KMC make 2 million chains a DAY...so they know a little about chains! )

from KMC:

•To remove mud or sand, use a bristle brush, if necessary with light soapy warm water .•Never use acidic or alkali based detergents (such as rust cleaners), these agents can damage the chain and may cause breakage.•NEVER EVER use a so-called ‘chain washing machine’ in combination with solvent. This is the one and only sure way to instantly ruin your chain.•Avoid the use of solvents, not only are these bad for the environment, they remove lubricant from the chain’s bearing.

the best advice I have been given is to brush /wipe the chain as clean as possible, lube, wipe and lube again...and wipe off excess lube. the chain may not look as clean, and will feel rough for the first 1km but this is external "noise" and will soon run smooth

I have been following this method for some seasons on mountain and road bikes with very good results, compared to previous seasons of quickly ruining chains using chain cleaning machines and solvents

am no chemist, but i don't think de-greasers are in the same classification as solvents.......Limonene from lemons limes and oranges is an excellent degreaser and certainly isn't a solvent., having said that i dont use degreasers either, i use pedro's ice wax, wash my bike every ride and drag chain through a dry towel and reapply ice wax and works a treat. only takes a minute or two after washing the bike and chain stays on the whole time....always looking new

Interesting bit about degreaser. Given how stock of an item that it is in bike shops (both on the floor and back in the shop), I'm surprised that KMC is so against them. I also question this quote because no chain that I have ever seen has a "bearing", unless the pin can be defined as a bearing.

I have used both soap and water, and degreaser, and I would say that both clean equally well. Only that it requires alot more soap and water than degreaser (especially if the chain has been overlubed and allowed to get caked in dirt and mud).

That being said I'm not one to argue against a manufacturer. Like I've said elsewhere here... 5+years in bike shops(4 of them as a full-time mechanic), in three different shops in different states (not to mention other shops I've visited in both the states and europe.. aka..I've seen alot of shops) I've only seen one shop use a chain cleaner to clean a bike chain, and all three of the cleaners we had were broken within a season.

The concept of the chain cleaner is cool, and maybe a more industrial one made of a light metal would last longer, but whenever I've wanted to see how something was done I've always figured whatever the trend is among professionals was probably the most economical.

regarding the use of the term "bearing". I always thought a bearing was a round metal ball that fits inside a unit, then i discovered that the whole casing with cage and balls/needles whatever, is also called a bearing, then last week on T.V, i was watching a victorian train being rebuilt - and they made a new bearing for one of the axles....its was just a highly polished metal ring (made out of white metal) transition fitted onto a highly polished and prescise, greased axle. and thats how it it turned/ran, So i dare say the little washer bits in between the inner links on a bike chain are also defined as bearings, or as you say it could also be the pins being defined as bearings

The word "bearing" doesn't have to be an "anti-friction roller bearing" to still be a bearing. (have you ever seen a crank bearing from your car's engine?) Maybe you prefer the term "bushing" or something if there aren't rollers, but every link on a chain has to pivot and has to "bear" a load while doing that. So no matter how simple the construction, every link in your chain has or is some sort of "bearing" in its design. Next time you cut down a chain, or retire an old one, break down a link or two and see all of the bits and appreciate all of the engineering that must go into these things, just so that we can go out and shred. Typically the little round part that actually touches the gears, can spin on its own, and the inner and outer plates of the chain can pivot free of each other...

Now I'm not sure that these metal bits wouldn't neccissarily shy away from solvents (maybe ruin the finish?), but any special coatings, or o-rings or whatever else makes up the chain might not like them.

I agree that WD40 has no place on a bike including the chain, but I also don't think it's so evil... I think the primary ingredient is some sort of fish oil.

all modern bicycle chains are the "Sedis" style bushingless design, this was invented by Sedis at the end of the 1970s

Sedis was bought by Sachs (who retained the Sedis name for their chain products) and finally Sachs was bought out by SRAM:- I used to ride on a Sachs sponsored DH team in the mid 1990's using their 'New Success' and 'Quarz' groupsets

on the Sedis style chain, each chain pin forms the centre of a bushingless roller, creating what is effectively a bearing unit, this houses the factory installed lubricant

this is what you want to avoid flushing with solvent cleaning as once this lubricant is evacuated, it cannot be easily replaced, and the factory lubricant is a special composition that is superior to any chain lube on the market

There is no Airworthiness Directive that directly bans WD-40. It meets MIL-C-23411. There was some discussion about it propogating cracks on aluminum panels. I work at an 'FAA' AMO (Tht big German Engine company, you may be aware of), and we have that stuff everywhere for disassembling turbines;-)

Once you put degreaser on your chain it will never be 'like new'. I once wore out a chain in 1000 miles by degreasing it often. Run it through a rag, scrub it with a dry brush, but don't use degreaser. Sheldon Brown agrees with me - RIP.

Yeah, and there seems to be something magical in the original Shimano lube/rust prevention treatment from the factory. It's sticky and packed in tight so it lasts longer than any lube, and doesn't get rattled out on long DH runs. I don't like to disturb it until the chain actually needs lube.

Haters ain't used this. It's very effective and as for degreaser cost? A squirt of washing up liquid in a pint of water does several cycles. Tip: use boiling water alone in tool to rinse chain as a last step,most the water evaporates as steam leaving an almost dry sparkling chain,bike spray removes remaining damp then rag and lube as norm,perfect results every time.

Interesting idea, but seems time consuming...and the risk of burning skin. My only complaint about these is that if you drop them they always seem to break and or spill dirty degreser fluid everywhere. I've broken 2 of them. For some reason I never use this on my own bikes, just tune ups in the shop.
I was hoping RC would figure out a time-consuming, overly-complicated way to use stainless steel wires to attatch the scrubber to the bicycle, which would require the use of wire cutters and safety glasses.

So what do you do with the collected oil contaminated /solvent mixture? Pour it down the sink? I hope not. I use light oil and lube chain frequently. My chain might not look pretty but it works just fine. If your anal about having a clean perfect chain. Soak in heated oil untill all the crud falls off.

Hot water, couple of drops of salt free washing up liquid, run it through twice, then twice with clean water & it comes out mint. Every time. Dry chain, lube. Takes about 4 minutes.

One of those moments after using it for the first time, thinking 'why the hell did I not buy one years ago'. No more c*cking around with old toothbrushes, stiff powerlinks, jam jars with petrol in etc.

Personally,. I use an older Park Chain Scrubber (and I still LOVE it) for really nasty chains that a simple degreaser soaked rag wont handle. I use a product called "Greased Lightning" diluted down to about 60% deagreaser/40% H2O. Ive been thru 2 in the 5 1/2 yrs Ive been at the shop I work at. I keep my own drivetrain SO "OCD" clean,... some of my custys dont believe my bikes hit the trail I assure them they do,..I just keep my rigs C-L-E-A-N !!

The first post that says these devices aren't durable = TRUTH. They're good for maybe 10 spins then the brushes are folded over and not doing their jobs. And you waste all kinds of solvent.

They are pretty good for people who use wet greasy lubes, though. With wet, greasy lubes you either use one of these things, or remove the chain and put it in a gasoline or kerosene solution and scrub it with a brush.

Using Rock&Roll lubes is way easier, cleaner chain, quieter chain, less hassle, less waste. Not sure why someone working for a MTB journal would promote anything else.

I love this tool. I use it frequently and havent had any issues...granted i did not use it in a shop. I paid 25$ for mine and i dont regret it...i dont get it spotless but i use it to get the bs off! If you spend sooooo much Time cleaning your bike spotless...you should work at interbike or atleast not be on hanging out on pinkbike.

despite kmc and shimano alert the usage of solvent, I use it, and I approve it...... It's cheaper, simpler and the chain gets out 99% new!!!!!! And u don't need to brush for an hour for it. just dive it, shake, and its fine in 3 minutes.Then I just lubricate a good amount, and wipe off the remains.

This is definitely worth checking out for me. There's been a few times I've been washing my chain in the sink and I've managed to knock the master link down the drain. Anything that keeps me from having to take the piping apart is worth a look!

Yeah. I saw him one day but i wasn`t paying attention to what he`s doing around my bike. HeheI guess he also redid my setup and made my shock link to crack as well as the swingarm and got me a new 2012 frame. Go Gizmo!!!About that chain: I said it wrong. I often lose that connecting link...so link opens(due to vibration from the terrain) and i lose the whole chain. And if don`t find it i get a new one.

I see they've upgraded? the clips on each end of the device, maybe they work better now? On my 2-3 year old version the clips fall off constantly. Sometimes mid-clean. Hilarity ensues. The handle flies off at inopportune times also.

And I don't know if RC is prakitin' witchcraft or not, but mine does make one holy hell of a mess. NOTHING like shown above. And no, I don't overfill it or go too fast. It's just that the end brushes do an amazing job of spittling out cleaner all the hell over the place.

Summary: I use mine, but I curse it every use.

(as for the leftover solvent, I take it to the hazmat section of the dump when I have a half quart or so. NOT down the drain.)

The main difference between taking the chain off and using tools like that is: you get to clean the RD and the cranks rings. I would find there a lot of dirt which would find its way on a chain in no time. I stopped using tools like that because of that.

got my third cyclone in 10++ years this years. So durability is not a real issue and considering nothing works that great. I'm using it with degreaser from MEC, rince with water and lube right after. Sometimes I use compressed air to expel residual water.

I've cleaned way dirtier chains than the one shown with it and it works fine, the Axiom cleaner(smells like pine sol) shines it up great. As for durability in the shop, I get a new one every year, I get a couple hundred cleanings before it wears out. The only time I saw one broken is when a 17 year old hack got a hold of it and snapped the handle off. For a home mechanic this chain scrubber should last for years if it's used properly.

In the shop where I work I use a barberi similar to this, does the job, but on my own bikes I remove and wash my chains with washing up liquid and a stiff brush then rinse with boiling hot water, dry with an old towel, refit and lube, takes a couple of minutes.

not sure if this is the right thing to do. what I do is drown the chain in lubricant, spin the chain a few times, wipe it off the lubricant with a sock and repeat once more. then you have a clean chain free from nasty solvents that may stay stuck in the links

anybody tried one of those ultasonic bath things to clean a chain? you can pick them up off ebay cheap as hell, pop the chain off drop it in have a coffe then shes done, havent tried it by my college tutor bought one to clean cassettes and other stuff. bet it works better , i need to give my chain a scrub but i wouldnt buy one of them too much for what they are

I have that tool in my garage and it is proving very very durable, after having it for more than 3 years it is almost as good as new.
Might be for the fact that I've used it once, and put it away...Nothing like a can of gas and a rag.

had a machine of that once... blah... nothing beats taking your chain off and leave it a day submersed in petrol. the next day the chain is brand new, and you can still re-use almost all of the petrol again

One of those things that you just don't need :-| .... and the worst thing about it, it washes all the greese out of the inside of the links. Better off throwing the chain in the bin and putting on a new one then using this thing to clean it !

A colgate 360 toothbrush with little WD40 , rub down with a clothand re oil the chain link by link with a syringe !. if its good enough for your teeth it will work for your chain as well and you never get hairs from your brush to fall and get stuck between the links plus you could use this as an excuse to buy a new toothbrush and use the old one for your chain

The thing to remember is that the important part of your chain to get clean is the rollers at the link, and ideally inside of the roller where it contacts the associated link.The next most important part is the outer plate around the link, followed by the inside of the link.These devices (and I have one) are ok, but you still don't get the important parts of your chain as clean as you really should.Add to that they use lots of fluid, so are very expensive to use and they are not all that great.

Nothing beats a full clean by jet washing, then soaking, then the old toothbrush, WD40 off all the cleaning fluid, dry lube the chain with a Teflon lube with a good Teflon coating lube (not finish line red, but the purple for example), then before heading out get some finish line green on....

It is wet and muddy up here lots, so power wash and finish line green is the only way unless you want to spend all day cleaning, especially if you ride 2 or more bikes in a day at the weekend!

Or you could use Rock&Roll blue ("Extreme") and have no problems like requiring a 2-hour chain remove-and-clean.

Your comment must be satire. Seriously? Microscopic inspection of the rollers to ensure you got every bit of grit and dirt? Do you have to put on a White Lab Coat first? Safety glasses? Does it require a B.Sc. in Chemistry?

No, I'm just happy to have discovered them after using quite a few others that gunked up my chain and required all kinds of hassles.

What makes you think I work for them? Is every comment that is positive a "marketing" comment? Does your comment above "prove" that you work for a competitor?

Don't be such an idiot. I pay whatever my LBS or online retailer charges for RnR lube. I am not employed by anyone in the MTB "industry" and I do not have any promotional interests at stake here. I'm just sharing what has worked for me, and I've tried using things like the Park chain scrubber and other chain scrubbers in the past. They were ripoffs, IMO.

I'm touting RnR because I've used other similar wax/solvent lubes, and they didn't last nearly long enough. Most of the competitors I've tried (ProLink Gold, White Lightning, TriFlow Dry) didn't last more than 2-3 hrs of pedaling and required a lot of excess application to get that 2-3 hrs of usefulness. If you know of another lube that doesn't require wasteful application and the use of cleaning solvents in a pan or machine, please share it. I won't mind.

Agreed, ultrasonic cleaning leaves a chain just out of the box clean, without lube. Then lube it with motorcycle wax or whitelightning.

I have one of these chain cleaners and don't use it anymore. I don't like it. I find it a bit messy and it takes the about the same amount of time as removing the chain [thank you SRAM] from the bike and wiping it down or using my wife's jewelery cleaner. Then dry it with the air compressor and a rag, lube and reinstall.

I prefer to take the chain off of the bike so that the degreasers don't get into the working parts of the hub or BB as the soaking chain moves about the various drive train components. I need to degrease my chain not the bearings in my BB or HUB.

In the last two days I've learned more and been more entertained by the comments than by the two tech articles by RC which inspired said comments.
If nothing else, RC is an extremely effective troll, which is a compliment. He generates good discussion and debates, and it's some good bike geek entertainment.